Today’s typical consumers are loyal to brands they love, prioritize sustainability considerations, demand quick shipping and availability of goods, and prioritize quality and personalization. They are often empowered by data and choices available to them. Simply, today’s tech-savvy informed consumers want faster, easier, well, everything. Enter biometrics. I must confess, I love how quick the experience is now to go through an airport via biometrics. And I guess so do most of you.
Simple and Quick
A June study by Visa also found two-thirds of respondents would use biometric authentication to check out, with many trusting biometric authentication (fingerprint/face ID) more than traditional payment methods (passwords/OTP).
The research is based on a survey of 2,016 online shoppers across the GCC, including the UAE, and explores their experiences with ecommerce purchases.
Digging a bit deeper, we see businesses have a similar sentiment about biometrics. Here we see 82% would shop online more frequently and be more likely to complete their purchases with a one-click checkout option. Meanwhile, 66% show a high likelihood of using Click to Pay with Biometrics if it is offered online by retailers.
The bottomline is easy and quick is a big priority in today’s always-connected, always-on, always-going society. Biometrics could certainly help—but at what cost?
Secure and Reliable
Even with a growing demand for quick and easy, there is also a demand for security as well. It is the ying and yang. Consumers want both—convenience and security.
In that Visa study, we see for 40% of respondents say the biggest frustrations with online checkouts are security concerns. What’s more, 58% of consumers are worried about the risk of fraud or hacking when storing their card details on multiple websites. And we see 42% of respondents have already experienced fraud or security breaches.
Looking to another May report, we see a similar sentiment. The Identity Theft Resource Center surveyed 1,177 consumers and 63% had serious concerns about providing biometric information, yet 91% provided a biometric identifier anyway.
Mixed beliefs certainly exist here, indicating more research needs to be done related to the security of biometrics. Technology providers must also provide transparency about how they are using the biometrics data and if that biometrics data is secure. More education is also needed for consumers about how the technology works and options to opt-out.
Opportunities are big for biometrics technology, but we must proceed with care and caution if we want consumers to embrace the technology like they have embraced other new, emerging technologies. What are your thoughts? How do we approach a biometric future?
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